Rising From Shadowed Ashes
GreenCrystal19
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Heroes of Olympus; they belong to respective authors; J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. Cover art by Viktoria Ridzel (Viria/viria13/vika) as usual. Her art is amazing; she is now the official portrait artist.
Author's Notes: OKAY FIRST SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! Second: HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson, Rick Riordan's project started by the fans, has graduated to #PercyJacksonDisney+! THERE WILL BE A LIVE-ACTION TV SERIES OF THE FIRST 5 BOOKS. VISIT RICK RIORDAN'S TWITTER FOR MORE INFO.
Now that that exciting info is out—I have now created a YouTube channel and a page on ArtStreet (as well as DeviantArt but there my username is GreenCrystal2019)! Feel free to check those out! Yes, there will be fanart!
EDIT: I am mainly gonna use Deviant (GreenCrystal2019) and YouTube. Also I drew Nico. :3 EDIT AGAIN: I feel like Nico's kinda sucks now, but FINE I'LL LEAVE IT UP FOR THE FANFIC'S SAKE.
The last big announcement: I have decided to include Trials of Apollo events after all. It has been revealed that Nico and Will will play a large role in Tower of Nero, and so I kind of have to include that, as Nico and Will's characters and situations might change quite a bit. Leo's arrival as well as basically everything involving Nico will be a bit different. ToA 1 takes place in the middle of January, so PoA will be farther along by then. Also: Nico will probably not be present for his scenes in ToA 1. So yay.
Chapter 9: Nico Discovers a Secret
Harry's PoV
Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the corner of the Great Hall, tucked in their sleeping bags, when Nico appeared, seemingly out of nowhere—he blended into the shadows way too well.
Hermione had just asked whether Harry and Ron thought Sirius was in the castle; Ron had replied that obviously, Dumbledore thought so.
Nico apparently had overheard, as he said: "Actually...he's probably left. If I were on a stealth mission and was discovered, I'd try to leave as soon as possible—not stick around for a fight."
Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How come you know so much about sneaking into places?" he asked. Nico still had a lot to answer for—why had Peeves listened to him, rather than Dumbledore? "And why did Peeves—"
"Quite over there!" Percy Weasley said, glancing in their direction. He'd been appointed to guard the entrance—and keep an eye on the students, no doubt.
The four of them stopped talking. Percy looked away.
"I've had experience, Harry," Nico continued, in a whisper. "Haven't you? Ginny said you saved the school—twice."
That was true, although stealth wasn't exactly Harry's strong suit. Nico, with his shadow abilities, was a much better candidate. In fact...could Nico have been working with Sirius?
Harry lingered on that thought for a while, before dismissing it. If Sirius was after him, Nico could have easily killed him by now. He has tried... a small voice said in the back of Harry's mind. Shut up, he told it.
"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," Hermione said quietly, once again breaking the silence. "The one night we weren't in the tower..."
Ron added: "I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."
"Perhaps not," Nico said. "Again, he may have been on a stealth mission. Gathering info before making his move. If he really was a follower of You-Know-Who, his goal may not be to eliminate you, Harry."
Harry stared at Nico. What was he going on about now? "Of course Sirius' goal is to kill me! Voldemort's tried twice already!"
"Names have power," Nico said, catching Harry off guard. "I may have said his name a few times—and you definitely have. And now Sirius has attacked. You shouldn't throw names around—it can...attract attention. At least...where I'm from."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Well, we're in Britain, not where you're from. I think we're fine."
Nico paused, thinking it through, then said slowly, "I suppose. There's not a spell for that?"
Hermione thought for a moment. "There may be one," she said. "But I doubt that You-Know-Who has the power or time to cast it."
"And stop changing the subject, di Angelo," Harry said. "Why'd Peeves listen to you?"
Nico did the cold smile again. "I have...let's say, a way with spirits. Just my style, I suppose."
"A way with the Dark Arts," Hermione noted, giving Nico a pointed look. "As well as what your Will Solace calls shadow travel."
"If you hate it so much," Nico snarled quietly, "why didn't you bring it up before?"
"Because, I try to maintain some form of manners," Hermione said. Harry and Ron exchanged a glance—they knew better. Hermione wasn't always polite. But she continued: "I wasn't about to question it in front of your friends." Nico opened his mouth, but Hermione had even more to say: "And, Nico di Angelo, that was the one time I've seen you even try to enjoy yourself, and I wasn't about to ruin it! You've been walking around Hogwarts essentially complaining about how awful your life is. Almost everything you do screams of self-pity."
Nico's eyes blazed. "I never—"
Hermione finished his sentence. "—said anything, but that doesn't mean you haven't been doing it! Don't you realize that other people have problems too? You don't need to be so dramatic!"
Nico glared at Hermione for several second, before saying: "Just when I thought you could've been a friend. Of course you'd—all of you—none of you could ever understand what I've been through, couldn't ever—I've almost died helping others! Even if I—" He stopped mid-sentence, sliced his hand through the air, and dissolved into shadows, leaving a chill and three stunned students in his wake.
Nico's PoV
Nico had broken his promise. But right now, he didn't particularly care.
Hermione had just—she'd just...Nico had begun to trust her. She'd never been quite so bad as the other two, even if her bossy attitude and extreme intelligence had annoyed—even scared—Nico.
He couldn't believe she'd just—it seemed impossible that...
...that she'd openly stated things about Nico that he had never dared to think about.
There was truth to what she'd said.
Was Nico blinded by self-pity? Not exactly...he'd still put aside his own burden to help in the Titan and Giant Wars. But...when there wasn't a war to fight...maybe he really did dwell on his problems too much, really was blinded by the sorrow of his past, so he couldn't see the joy in his future.
I enjoyed Hogsmeade so much. I didn't think about...well, any of it. All this time I've been trying to distance myself, to carry my past alone. But...maybe Jason was right. Hazel, Will, Reyna—even Ginny and Luna. None of them hated Nico—they all seemed to genuinely like him.
Nico walked through the darkened halls of Hogwarts quietly, dodging any ghosts or teachers nearby. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost leaped out of his skin when he felt something large and furry brush his leg.
"Snuffles? What in Hade's name are you doing here?"
The black dog had been walking—no, running, by the way he whirled around and seemed so shocked to see Nico there. The son of Hades was certain that the dog, with his superior senses of hearing and smell, plus night-vision, should have been able to see him walking down the hall. Unless...unless Snuffles was trying to get out of the castle, trying not to be seen.
A crazy idea came to mind. If I were on a stealth mission and was discovered, I'd try to leave as soon as possible...he may have been on a stealth mission...Gathering info before making his move.
Snuffles was watching Nico closely, his large black ears pricked up. Watching, almost as though he knew what Nico was thinking, knew what was going on. Almost as though he, too, spoke the language of humans...or was one. They have magic; of course they could shape-shift...what were we learning about in class? Anami? No. Animagi.
"Are you...are you Sirius Black?" Nico asked the dog.
Slowly, "Snuffles" nodded.
Nico's PoV
Nico ran down the dark hallways, following Snuffles—no, Sirius Black. He couldn't believe it—he'd discovered him, the first and only known escapee of Azkaban prison. But—so many questions! Nico had been undefended near Sirius; in the Shrieking Hut. Sirius could have killed him, but hadn't—even so, he knew so much already. Nico had thought he'd been speaking to a dog, a creature with no plots of ill-intentions like murdering the chosen one and bringing evil wizards back from near-death.
But nooooo. Of course Nico would be the one demigod to get chucked into a wizarding madhouse, to find the wizard who'd killed thirteen—walking around Hogwarts essentially complaining about how awful your life is...everything you do screams of self-pity.
And Hermione. Nico would...he'd have to talk to her! If anyone at Hogwarts could figure this mess out, it was her.
Sirius was escaping. He ran faster then Nico, being a dog—he'd probably had a lot of practice, running from the law.
Does Voldemort know about me? Was Sirius spying on me this whole time? "Gathering info?"
The thought made Nico sick. If the demigod camps were in danger, if he lost Will, and Hazel, and Reyna—NO. I will catch him. Nico paused, closed his eyes. He thought of all of the shadows in the dark halls of Hogwarts, all of the power. Nico imagined drawing it in, using it, becoming nothing but a swift, silent shadow.
And then he ran.
Somehow, Nico managed catch up with Snuf—Sirius. He was too focused on the chase to realize that, "oh wow, I just found a new ability!" No. He had to stop Sirius, or at least find answers. Harnessing some convenient ropes from the darkness, Nico willed them to lash around the black canine in front of him.
So-called "Snuffles" tripped, snarling, but somehow managed to break free. But at that point, Nico had his sword drawn and pointed at the dog's face. Normally, he'd be nicer—after all, Nico did like dogs—but Sirius was a murderer. He worked for Voldemort, the most evil wizard of all time, had possibly tried to kill Harry—who, annoying as he was, had saved lives and didn't deserve to die—and had probably been passing info about Nico and the demigods on to Voldemort. Info that could, in the wrong hands, get Nico and his friends—there, he'd said it—killed.
"You've got a lot to answer for," Nico snapped.
Sirius gave him a skeptical look, like: Nico. Let's be serious. Wizard or not, dogs can't talk. Now, let me go, and don't waste your time chasing me.
Nico glared at him. "Transform, and then we'll talk."
What with the deadly sword in his face, Sirius didn't have any other options. Faster then Nico could track, Sirius went from dog to human in less than a second.
Sirius had black hair, but that was about the only thing that aligned with Nico's expectations. He'd been expecting some cackling, evil madman with slicked-back hair or whatever modern villains had.
But Sirius did not look like he was in good shape. As a dog he'd been thin and his fur had been matted, but his hair as a human was even more tangled and matted—which Nico found a bit backwards. His face was gaunt, his skin waxy; his teeth weren't in great shape either; they were yellow and looked even worse than Charybdis; apparently wizards on the run didn't have much time for hygiene. His eyes sunken and dark, like he'd depths of Tartarus—like the eyes that greeted Nico every time he looked in a mirror.
"So, I assume you're going to ask why I want to kill Harry." Sirius stated it matter-of-factly; his expression wasn't just blank: it was disinterested, weary, as though he'd been trying to get someone to see was obvious, but they just wouldn't listen.
Nico hesitated. Why didn't he seem...more panicked at being caught? He didn't seem evil—Nico had encountered enough of that to know. Refocusing, Nico said: "Tell me everything. Now."
Sirius opened his mouth, but a voice Nico recognized spoke behind him. "Nico? What are you doing?"
Nico whirled. No. Please, not now. Not now. Please—Gods of Olympus, not now.
Harry stood behind him, a look of stunned disbelief on his face. "Is that—is that Sirius Black?!"
Taking advantage of Nico's moment of distraction, Sirius shifted into his canine form and ran straight at Harry.
Harry ducked, but Sirius didn't pause—he continued running straight down the hallway. Nico watched him go. The exhaustion from all of that "Underworld-y stuff" as Will put it washed over him. Nico wouldn't have enough energy to pursue. The chase was over. But the night, crazy as it had been, was just beginning.
Nico turned to face Harry. "I can explain."
"You'd better, di Angelo," Harry said, his eyes cold slabs of jade. "Or you and Sirius will be taken to the dementors—whether you like it or not."
Author's Notes: Well, that happened. I have no idea what I've done, honestly. This was NOT written into my plan. It just happened, LOL. Well, I hope I'll be able to update soon! I've forgotten how fun this is. Prepare to return to another chapter of "Nico and Crystal Completely Butcher the Plot!" Until then, feel free to visit my corners of DeviantArt and YouTube! See you guys later!
P.S. A little note. What I made Hermione say does have some truth to it, even in canon. Nico's fatal flaw, as well as holding grudges, does seem to have a bit to do with self-pity. Everyone falls into that hole sometimes. Hope that wasn't too deep for anyone, LOL.
